Back pressing-type lumbar support

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a back pressing-type lumbar support. The back pressing-type lumbar support of the present invention comprises: a pair of back pressing units disposed apart from each other and having pressing plate portions that press the shoulder blade parts at the rear of the shoulders of a person seated in a chair; and unit supporting portions supporting the pair of back pressing units.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a back pressing-type lumbar support, and more particularly, to a back pressing-type lumbar support that may reduce pressure applied to the backbone or spine even when studying, working, or driving in a seated state for a long period of time and thus reduce strain on the backbone or spine, resulting in alleviation of back or lumbar pain.

BACKGROUND ART

Chairs are a type of furniture including a seat on which buttocks are placed, a back support by which the back is supported, and an armrest for resting arms. Chairs without armrests are also widely used.

When studying, working, or driving while seated in a general chair for a long period of time regardless of the presence or absence of armrests, the backbone or spine is strained due to pressure applied thereto or, in a severe case, pain may be caused therein.

In particular, when pain is caused, a seating posture is poor and thus a user cannot seat upright, resulting in the occurrence of illness such as disk protrusion.

Thus, techniques for inducing upright seating posture so as not to strain the backbone or spine are disclosed in Korean Patent Application Nos. 10-1997-0061714, 20-1998-0014177, 20-1998-0019083, and 20-1999-0022762, and the like.

However, according to techniques disclosed in the prior art in addition to the above-described patent documents, it is difficult to reduce strain on the backbone or spine by decreasing pressure applied thereto due to structural limitations, for example, directly pressing the load of a seated user using delicate and sensitive armpits, and the like.

Actually, in consideration of the fact that, when the load of a seated user is pressed by armpit rests, this cannot last for a long period of time due to delicate and sensitive characteristics of the armpits and a load pressing effect is also substantially insignificant, there is a need to develop a technology for a novel back pressing-type lumbar support to address the aforementioned problems.

DISCLOSURE Technical Problem

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is one object of the present invention to provide a back pressing-type lumbar support that may reduce pressure applied to the backbone or spine even when studying, working, or driving in a seated state for a long period of time and thus reduce strain on the backbone or spine, resulting in alleviation of back or lumbar pain.

Technical Solution

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, provided is a back pressing-type lumbar support including: a pair of back pressing units spaced apart from each other and including pressing plate parts to press shoulder blades, which are rear parts of the shoulders, of a user seated in a chair; and a unit support part to support the pair of back pressing units.

Each back pressing unit may further include an armrest part connected to the pressing plate part in an integrated form so as to hang or rest upper parts of the arms to prevent the arms from slipping.

The unit support part may include: a pair of height adjustment support parts arranged in a height-adjustable manner to respectively support the back pressing units; and at least one separation distance adjustment support part connecting the pair of height adjustment support parts to each other and capable of adjusting a separation distance between the pair of height adjustment support parts.

The unit support part may further include: foot members respectively arranged at end portions of the pair of height adjustment support parts; and a buffer member coupled to the pair of height adjustment support parts and the separation distance adjustment support part to support the back of the user seated in a chair so as to absorb impact thereon.

The pressing plate part may be a simple block-type construct, or may further include a buffer member such as a cushion or a spring to press the shoulder blades.

Advantageous Effects

According to the present invention, effects of reducing pressure applied to the backbone or spine even when studying, working, or driving in a seated state for a long period of time and thus reducing strain on the backbone or spine, resulting in alleviation of back or lumbar pain may be provided.

In addition, according to the present invention, an upright seating posture may be induced by preventing the lumbar from bending towards the back, which may contribute to spine health.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a partial exploded perspective view of a back pressing-type lumbar support according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of FIG. 1 from which a buffer member is detached.

FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a state in which a user is seated in a chair using the back pressing-type lumbar support of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a view illustrating a state in which a user is seated while resting upper parts of arms on the back pressing-type lumbar support of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6(a) is a view illustrating a normal state in which a user is seated in a chair, and FIG. 6(b) is a view illustrating a state in which the back pressing-type lumbar support of FIG. 1 is applied.

FIG. 7 is a front view of a back pressing-type lumbar support according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a front view of a back pressing-type lumbar support according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

BEST MODE

The present invention provides a back pressing-type lumbar support including: a pair of back pressing units spaced apart from each other and including pressing plate parts to press the shoulder blades at a rear part of the shoulders of a seated user; and

a unit support part to support the back pressing units.

Mode

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in such a manner that the invention may be easily carried out by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains.

However, a detailed description of the present invention is provided only as embodiments thereof for structural or functional explanation, and thus the scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited by the embodiments set forth herein.

For example, embodiments may be variously modified and take many different forms, and thus the scope of the present invention should be understood as including equivalents thereto that can realize the technical spirit of the invention.

In addition, it should not be interpreted that particular embodiments should include all technical goals or effects provided in the present invention or should include only these effects, and thus the scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited thereby.

In the present specification, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the concept of the invention to those skilled in the art. In addition, the present invention should be defined by the scope of the following claims.

Thus, in some embodiments, well-known elements, well-known operations, and well-known techniques will not be described in detail to avoid ambiguous interpretation of the present invention.

Meanwhile, terms used in the present invention are not limited to meanings defined in a dictionary, and should be understood as follows.

It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “connected” to another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly connected” to another element, there are no intervening elements present. Other expressions for describing a relationship between elements, i.e., “between” and “directly between” and “neighboring” and “directly neighboring,” should be understood in the same way.

An expression in the singular includes an expression in the plural unless context clearly indicates otherwise. In the application, it should be understood that terms, such as “include” and “have,” are used to indicate the existence of implemented feature, number, step, operation, element, part, or a combination thereof without excluding the possibility of existence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, elements, parts, or combinations thereof.

All terms used herein have the same meaning as generally understood by those of ordinary skill in the art unless defined differently.

It should be understood that generally used terms, which are defined in a dictionary, have the same meaning as in the context of related technology, and the terms are not to be understood as having ideal or excessively formal meanings unless clearly defined in the application.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In a description of the embodiments, like reference numerals denote like elements, and, in some cases, a detailed description of like reference numerals will be provided once.

FIG. 1 is a partial exploded perspective view of a back pressing-type lumbar support according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view of FIG. 1 from which a buffer member is detached. FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a state in which a user is seated in a chair using the back pressing-type lumbar support of FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view of FIG. 3. FIG. 5 is a view illustrating a state in which a user is seated while resting upper parts of arms on the back pressing-type lumbar support of FIG. 1. FIG. 6(a) is a view illustrating a normal state in which a user is seated in a chair, and FIG. 6(b) is a view illustrating a state in which the back pressing-type lumbar support of FIG. 1 is applied.

Referring to the drawings, the back pressing-type lumbar support 100 according to the present embodiment may reduce pressure applied to the backbone or spine even when studying, working, or driving in a seated state for a long period of time and thus may alleviate strain on the backbone or spine, resulting in alleviation of back or lumbar pain, and includes a pair of back pressing units 110 and a unit support part 120 to support the pair of back pressing units 110.

First, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 to 5, the back pressing units 110 are parts for pressing shoulder rear parts of a seated user and arranged in pairs to be spaced apart from each other. The back pressing units 110 have the same structure.

Each of the back pressing units 110 includes a pressing plate part 111 and an armrest part 112. The pressing plate part 111 and the armrest part 112 are fabricated to intersect each other, but an angle therebetween does not need to be 90°.

Although the drawings of the present embodiment illustrate that the pressing plate part 111 is longer than the armrest part 112, the armrest part 112 may be longer than the pressing plate part 111.

The pressing plate part 111 serves to press the shoulder blades, which are rear parts of the shoulders, of a user when seated in a chair and forms a dispersion point of a main load. The pressing plate part 111 may be a simple block-type construct, or may further include a buffer member such as a cushion or a spring to press the shoulder blades.

For reference, there is a conventional case where a load of a seated user is pressed while resting the armpit parts. When the load is pressed by the armpit parts, however, the pressing operation cannot last for a long period of time due to delicate and sensitive characteristics of the armpits, and a load pressing effect is also substantially insignificant. In the present embodiment, however, the pressing plate part 111 serves to press a load and thus may efficiently disperse a main load without resting armpits as in the prior art, thereby reducing pressure applied to the backbone or spine.

In addition, the armrest part 112 is connected to the pressing plate part 111 in an integrated form, and serves to prevent arms from slipping by hanging (see FIGS. 3 and 4) or resting (see FIG. 5) upper parts of the arms thereon. The upper parts of arms may be hung forward or backward.

Both the pressing plate part 111 and the armrest part 112 may be made of a cushioning material.

As such, in a case in which the pressing plate part 111 presses the shoulder blades, which are rear parts of the shoulders, and upper parts of arms are hung or rested on the armrest part 112, even though seated in a chair for a long period of time, pressure applied to backbone or spine may be reduced, and thus problems, such as strain on the backbone or spine or back or spine pain, may be addressed.

In particular, the pressing plate part 111 may increase friction between a load of a seated user and a chair, and the armrest part 112 may maintain the friction to a maximum extent, thereby reducing a load upward in a vertical direction (see FIG. 6). Thus, the backbone or spine is not strained or strain thereon is alleviated.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 6(a), when a user simply leans on a chair without using the back pressing-type lumbar support 100 according to the present embodiment, a load acts on the spine upward in a vertical direction (see thick arrows) and the backbone or spine ends up being strained.

However, as illustrated in FIG. 6(b), when the back pressing-type lumbar support 100 according to the present embodiment is used, a considerable amount of friction is vertically formed on a chair by the pressing plate part 111, and the friction is maintained by the armrest part 112, whereby a load that vertically and upwardly acts on the spine may be considerably reduced. Accordingly, strain on the backbone or spine may be alleviated.

For reference, unlike illustrated in the drawings, the pressing plate part 111 and the armrest part 112 may have a circular cross-sectional shape, and this may also provide effects of the present invention.

As such, the present invention may be embodied in various shapes, and thus the scope of the present invention should not be limited by the shapes of the drawings.

Next, the unit support part 120 is connected to the pair of back pressing units 110 to support the back pressing units 110.

The back pressing-type lumbar support 100 according to the present embodiment includes, for example, the unit support part 120 that may be installed on a driver's seat, or the like to support the pair of back pressing units 110.

The unit support part 120 includes height adjustment support parts 130, separation distance adjustment support parts 140, foot members 150, and a buffer member 160.

The height adjustment support parts 130 are respectively connected to the back pressing units 110 to vertically support the back pressing units 110 and are arranged in a height-adjustable manner.

That is, since the back pressing units 110 should be positioned at the shoulder blades, which are rear parts of the shoulders, of a seated user, the height adjustment support parts 130 are arranged to perform such height adjustment. As described above, the height adjustment support part 130 is connected to each of the back pressing units 110.

Each height adjustment support part 130 includes a first height adjustment bar 131 connected to the back pressing unit 110, a second height adjustment bar 132 connected in a length-adjustable manner to the first height adjustment bar 131, and a height adjustment pin 133 fitted into respective pin holes 131 a and 132 b of the first and second height adjustment bars 131 and 132.

By such configuration, in a state in which the height of the first height adjustment bar 131 is adjusted with respect to the second height adjustment bar 132, the height adjustment pin 133 may be fitted into the pin holes 131 a and 132 b that are communicated with each other so as to allow the height adjustment pin 133 to pass therethrough, thereby adjusting the heights of the back pressing units 110 and supporting the back pressing units 110.

The separation distance adjustment support parts 140 connect the pair of height adjustment support parts 130 to each other and serve to adjust a separation distance between the pair of height adjustment support parts 130.

In the present embodiment, two separation distance adjustment support parts 140 are applied, but one or at least three separation distance adjustment support parts 140 may be applied.

Each separation distance adjustment support part 140 includes a first separation distance adjustment bar 141 connected to the first height adjustment bar 131, a second separation distance adjustment bar 142 connected in a length-adjustable manner to the first separation distance adjustment bar 141, and a separation distance adjustment pin 143 fitted into respective pin holes 141 a and 142 b of the first and second separation distance adjustment bars 141 and 142.

By such configuration, in a state in which a separation distance between the first and second separation distance adjustment bars 141 and 142 is adjusted, the separation distance adjustment pin 143 may be fitted into the pin holes 141 a and 142 b that are communicated with each other so as to allow the separation distance adjustment pin 143 to pass therethrough, thereby adjusting the separation distance between the first and second height adjustment bars 131 and 132 and supporting the first and second height adjustment bars 131 and 132.

The foot members 150 are arranged at end portions of the first and second height adjustment bars 131 and 132, respectively, of the height adjustment support part 130 to support the construct.

The buffer member 160 is a type of cushion that is coupled to the height adjustment support parts 130 and the separation distance adjustment support parts 140 to support the back of a seated user so as to absorb impact thereon.

The buffer member 160 may be provided with coupling bands 161 to be coupled to the height adjustment support parts 130 and the separation distance adjustment support parts 140.

In a case in which the back pressing-type lumbar support 100 having such configuration is installed in, for example, a chair and upper parts of arms are hung (see FIGS. 3 and 4) or rested (see FIG. 5) on the armrest part 112, the pressing plate part 111 presses the shoulder blades, which are rear parts of the shoulders, and thus pressure applied to the backbone or spine may be reduced even when a user is seated for a long period of time, and, accordingly, problems, such as strain on the backbone or spine or backbone or spine pain, may be addressed.

In particular, the pressing plate part 111 may increase friction between a load of a seated user and a chair, and the armrest part 112 may maintain the friction to a maximum extent, thereby reducing a load upward in a vertical direction. Thus, the backbone or spine is not strained.

That is, as illustrated in FIG. 6(a), when a user simply leans on a chair without using the back pressing-type lumbar support 100 according to the present embodiment, a load acts on the spine only upward in a vertical direction (see thick arrows) and the backbone or spine ends up being strained. Accordingly, this case has a significantly negative effect on health.

However, as illustrated in FIG. 6(b), when the back pressing-type lumbar support 100 according to the present embodiment is used, a load is vertically dispersed in a chair by the pressing plate part 111 and thus a considerable amount of friction is formed, and the friction is maintained by the armrest part 112, whereby a load that vertically and upwardly acts on the spine may be considerably reduced. Accordingly, strain on the backbone or spine may be alleviated.

According to the present embodiment having the above-described structures and functions, pressure applied to the backbone or spine may be reduced even when studying, working, or driving in a seated state for a long period of time, and thus strain on the backbone or spine may be alleviated, and, accordingly, back or lumbar pain may be alleviated.

In addition, according to the present embodiment, bending of the lumbar towards a back side may be prevented and thus an upright seating posture may be induced, which may contribute to spine health.

FIG. 7 is a front view of a back pressing-type lumbar support according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to the drawing, the back pressing-type lumbar support 200 also includes a pair of back pressing units 210, and a unit support part 120 to support the pair of back pressing units 210.

In such configuration, the pair of back pressing units 210 are slightly inclined on opposite sides with respect to a horizontal plane, and this configuration has no problem with hanging or resting upper parts of arms.

Even when the structure of the present embodiment is applied, pressure applied to the backbone or spine may be reduced even when studying, working, or driving in a seated state for a long period of time, and thus strain on the backbone or spine may be alleviated, and, accordingly, back or lumbar pain may be alleviated, and bending of the lumbar towards a back side may be prevented to thus induce an upright seating posture, which may contribute to spine health.

FIG. 8 is a front view of a back pressing-type lumbar support according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to the drawing, the back pressing-type lumbar support 300 also includes a pair of back pressing units 310, and a unit support part 320 to support the pair of back pressing units 310.

The unit support part 320 includes height adjustment support parts 330, separation distance adjustment support parts 140, and foot members 150.

In such configuration, each back pressing unit 310 is detachably coupled to an end portion of the height adjustment support part 330. That is, the height adjustment support part 330 is provided with a male thread part 331 at the end portion thereof and the back pressing unit 310 is provided with a female thread part 311 that are screw-coupled to the male thread part 331.

As such, when the back pressing units 310 are detachably arranged, it is advantageous that the back pressing units 310 be replaced with other sizes thereof or new black pressing units.

Even when the structure of the present embodiment is applied, pressure applied to the backbone or spine may be reduced when studying, working, or driving in a seated state for a long period of time, and thus strain on the backbone or spine may be alleviated, and, accordingly, back or lumbar pain may be alleviated, and bending of the lumbar towards a back side may be prevented, thus inducing an upright seating posture, which may contribute to spine health.

It is obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art that the present invention is not limited to embodiments set forth herein, and various changes and modifications may be made within the spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, these changed or modified embodiments should be interpreted as within the scope of the following claims.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The present invention may be applied to back pressing-type lumbar support applications in which pressure applied to the backbone or spine may be reduced even when studying, working, or driving in a seated state for a long period of time, and thus strain on the backbone or spine may be alleviated, resulting in alleviation of back or lumbar pain. 

1. A back pressing-type lumbar support comprising: a pair of back pressing units spaced apart from each other and comprising pressing plate parts to press shoulder blades, which are rear parts of the shoulders, of a user seated in a chair; and a unit support part to support the pair of back pressing units.
 2. The back pressing-type lumbar support according to claim 1, wherein each back pressing unit further includes an armrest part connected to the pressing plate part in an integrated form so as to hang or rest upper parts of the arms to prevent the arms from slipping.
 3. The back pressing-type lumbar support according to claim 1, wherein the unit support part comprises: a pair of height adjustment support parts arranged in a height-adjustable manner to respectively support the back pressing units; and at least one separation distance adjustment support part connecting the pair of height adjustment support parts to each other and capable of adjusting a separation distance between the pair of height adjustment support parts.
 4. The back pressing-type lumbar support according to claim 3, wherein the unit support part further comprises: foot members respectively arranged at end portions of the pair of height adjustment support parts; and a buffer member coupled to the pair of height adjustment support parts and the separation distance adjustment support part to support the back of the user seated in a chair so as to absorb impact thereon.
 5. The back pressing-type lumbar support according to claim 1, wherein the pressing plate part is a simple block-type construct, or further comprises a buffer member such as a cushion or a spring to press the shoulder blades. 